Spike Originals
Background: The origins of the Spike cable television network traced as far back as 1983 when "The Nashville Network" was founded. The latter was a country music network (not the first as it was founded two days after Country Music Television was formed). The network was eventually acquired by Viacom in 2000 who drastically changed its format and renamed the network to "The National Network" (a.k.a. "The New TNN" for short) in an attempt to compete with networks like USA Network and TBS until becoming "Spike TV" as the first network for men. However, the network was rebranded as "Paramount Network" on January 18, 2018. The New TNN 1st Logo (1983-2000?) Logo: On a black/blue gradient space background we see the text "TNN" with a rounded red square with a section in the shape of a guitar top cut out of it zooming out from the left while the missing section in white does the same from the opposite direction. Both stop in the middle and the logo proceeds to shine. FX/SFX: The zooming and the shining. Music/Sounds/Voice-over: A mellow country theme with an announcer saying "You're watching TNN". Availability: Extinct. Not 100% sure if this was used at the end of programs on the network. Scare Factor: None. Very pleasant actually. 2nd Logo (2000-2003) Logo: On a gray background we see The National Network logo of the era (2 squares stacked on top of 2 others) sandwiched between the words "THE NEW" on top in teal with a white outline and "ORIGINALS" in gray with a bubbly effect. The TNN logo is bubbling in different colors as follows: red-orange-tan-magenta. FX/SFX: The bubbling. Music/Sounds: The closing theme of a preceding program, or the sound of bubbling. Availability: Seen on original programs on the network before it became Spike TV. This is retained on at least one episode of Ren and Stimpy: Adult Party Cartoon on iTunes. Also seen on very early episodes of MXC and plastered the Nickelodeon Animation Studios logo on TNN's reruns of the original Ren and Stimpy show. This was also seen in early episodes of Stripperella and Gary the Rat. Scare Factor: None. Spike Originals 1st Logo (2003) Logo: We see "Spike" in a script font on a white background. Above it is "TV" in superscript, next to the "e". Below the "pike" part, we see the line "FIRST NETWORK FOR MEN". FX/SFX: None. Music/Sounds: The closing theme of the show. Availability: It was seen on the 1st season of MXC. Scare Factor: None. 2nd Logo (2003-2006) Logo: On a black background we see the red text "MADE BY" and we also see the Spike TV logo of the era (Spike in a cursive font with TV below it) zooming out while a curvy white line pushes it eventually dispersing to the left. Copyright information is listed below in red. FX/SFX: The line's animation and the zooming of the logo. Music/Sounds: The closing theme of the show, or a rock tune. Availability: Rare. It was seen on some Spike programs like Gary the Rat, the infamous Ren and Stimpy Adult Party Cartoon, and MXC until the network re-branded. Scare Factor: Minimal if it contains the rock tune, none for the closing theme. 3rd Logo (May 9, 2006-2010) Nicknames: "Spike Chevron", "The Reverse Explosion" Logo: Against a black BG, we see a huge fireball and stone bricks from an explosion, which plays in reverse, forming the then-current Spike logo, which consists of a golden yellow chevron shape that is broken near the top containing the text "SPIKE", and "ORIGINAL" in gray, fades in below that. A copyright stamp is sometimes shown below. FX/SFX: The explosion. Music/Sounds: *The sound of an explosion playing in reverse, ending with a "clang". *Sometimes, the clang is not heard. Availability: Appeared on shows like 1,000 Ways to Die, GameTrailers TV, Blade: The Series, and the final season of MXC. Scare Factor: Low to medium. 4th Logo (2010-2011) Nickname: "Spike Chevron II" Logo: On a dark background, a shinier version of the Spike chevron logo slowly fades in. A lens flare appears on the logo, and the text "ORIGINAL" appears below. Also, below "SPIKE", the letters "HD" are shown. Variant: There is an early variant without the word "HD". FX/SFX: The logo appearing. Music/Sounds: An ethereal electronic note. Availability: Appears at the end of Spike programs from the era, such as Blue Mountain State. Scare Factor: Minimal. 5th Logo (2011-2015) Nicknames: "Spike Chevron III", "Spike on the Internet" Logo: On a bumblebee yellow background with a black bar in the center, the Spike chevron logo shifts to the middle from the right of the screen. The yellow colors move out, the Spike chevron logo turns yellow, and "_ORIGINAL" appears below near the bottom-right part of the chevron. The logo glows, then inverts colors and goes back to normal. FX/SFX: Simple 2D effects. Music/Sounds: A whoosh, then a beep sound as the logo glows. Availability: Seen on Spike programs prior to their rebranding in 2015. Also seen at the start of Spike shows on Hulu and Amazon Prime. Scare Factor: Low, the invert may startle some. 6th Logo (2015-2018) Nicknames: "The Flash", "Spike Split", "Boom!" Logo: On a black background, we see a diagonal line. The line shortens and forms the word "Spike" in a black bold font, with half of it split. The line disappears and the logo turns negative. "ORIGINAL" in spaced out letters fades in. FX/SFX: The line, the invert, and the fade. Music/Sounds: A synthesized boom as the logo forms, followed by a 3-note jingle. Availability: No longer current. Seen on newer Spike programming such as Lip Sync Battle. Scare Factor: Minimal to low, the sudden invert may startle you.